BROWNING ELIZABETH BARRETT 1806 1861 Poetess and wife

BROWNING, ELIZABETH BARRETT (1806 -1861) Poetess, and wife of Robert Browning. - While still a child she showed her poetic gift, and her father published 50 copies of a juvenile epic on the Battle of Marathon. -At the age of 15 she fell off a horse, injuring her spine. This accident confined her to a recumbent position for several years, and she never fully recovered from the effects of this. Elizabeth would pass a lot of time writing poetry in a darkened room.

• Her early volumes of poetry such as “The Seraphim and Other Poems” (1838) (including "Cowper's Grave. ") and “The Cry of Children” received wide critical acclaim and she became one of the most respected female poets, she was even mentioned as a successor to Wordsworth as Poet Laureate

• https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=NYl. K 6 Pq. EG 6 g

• In 1845 she met for the first time her future husband, Robert Browning • The couple had to marry in private and make a secret departure from her home to go and live in Italy. Her romance and marriage with Robert Browning helped Elizabeth tremendously, contributing to an improvement in her health.

• In 1851 she wrote one of her finest books “Casa Guidi Windows”, this was inspired by her support for Italian independence from Austria. • In 1856 she wrote her longest and most popular collection of poems “Aurora Leigh”

• She is generally considered one of England’s greatest poetesses. Her works are thoughtful and delicate, but also offer profound ideas, especially on spiritual topics. Her own sufferings, combined with her moral and intellectual strength, made her the champion of the suffering and oppressed wherever she found them. (Elizabeth was an enthusiastic supporter of the anti slavery movement)

Other works • • • · · · · · The Seraphim and other poems, 1838 The Cry of the Children , 1841 The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim‘s Point , 1849 Poems, 1850 - includes Sonnets from the Portuguese Aurora Leigh, 1857 Casa Guifi Windows , 1851 Last Poems, 1862 (ed. by Robert Browning) The Poetical Works, 1904 Letters to Miss Mitford , 1954 The Complete Works of Elizabeth Browning, 1973